I've Changed
by Pixie97
Summary: James and Lily have an argument, and James points out everything about him that has changed that Lily can't see. She starts to think that maybe he is a different person. Set in the beginning of their Seventh Year! Rated T for no particular reason.


**Hey everybody!**

**This is set in the beginning of James and Lily's seventh year, BEFORE they start dating. I realize that a few sentences start in "and" or "but", which I hate, but I tried to write this like how they would speak in an actual argument. It's few and far between, so for all of my grammar Nazis, don't worry. Please review and tell me what you think!**

"You are no better than a Death Eater!"

Silence.

James fumed. Lily stared back, not taking back what she said despite the fact that she had regretted it immediately. Arguments like these had no bounds. By the end of them, both antagonists regretted the things they said, but both harbored too much pride to apologize.

"Don't you dare say that! You can insult me all you want- Merlin knows you do, but don't go spouting things you don't know. If you ever opened your blind eyes, you'd see that I'm nothing like the person you think I am. You're so concerned with making everyone else think that you hate me, you don't realized that I'm no longer the twelve year old boy who teases the girl he likes because he doesn't know any better! You're as ignorant as a Death Eater, but Merlin knows I wouldn't sink low enough to actually call you one!"

"Potter I-" Lily tried to apologize.

"Oh save it Evans. I already know that you're brainwashed by Snape. In fact, I think hanging out with a Death Eater has been a bad influence on you. He-,"

"He is NOT a Death Eater Potter!" Lily cut in, defiantly. She still believed there was time to save him, despite the fact that she had barely talked to him since fifth year.

"Get off it Evans! You know that's where he's headed! How many times have I had to save your butt from his friends ganging up to attack you?"

It was true. Over the past couple of years, the Slytherin House had antagonized all the muggle borns in the school, including Lily. Typically it was just taunts and name calling, but once or twice it had resulted in duels. Duels that Lily was horrifically outnumbered in, despite her talent of casting off hexes. Unfailingly, however, James had been there to intervene when she needed, leaving the Slytherins running scared.

"One day, I won't be there to protect you, Lily. So stop taking me for granted!" James continued.

Lily was quiet for a moment. She hadn't thought about after graduation. One day she could live life as a full witch in a blissful Potter-free life. "How weird will that be?" Lily murmured to herself.

"What?" James asked in confusion.

She regained her senses. "Thank Merlin for that Potter! Ever think that I don't want you to be intervening in my life all the time? Well, in case you hadn't gathered, I DON'T! After graduation I can go into my training to be a Healer, living with my friends in London. You can go marry some pureblood witch from Beauxbatons and live off your money in some grand manor in the country. And when you do that, and realize just how pathetic you are, know that I'll be doing something productive in the world, NOT thinking about you!"

"You seriously think I'd just sit back while there is a war going on? I didn't know you thought that low of me, Evans. Or that highly of yourself. What makes you think that I'll be thinking of you once I'm off and married? One day you'll realize that you missed your chance with me, and when you come beg at my door, I'll have forgotten about you!"

Now this, of course, was a lie. James could never forget about Lily Evans. The girl who drove him mad but still had him worshipping the ground she walked on. Then again, he doubted that he would ever be able to marry someone other than Lily Evans. He would never fully get over her, and by not being able to do so, he wouldn't be able to give his heart to another bird. But she didn't have to know that.

"You cannot honestly think I'd come begging at your door! Ugh, Potter! You're so full of it! You think the whole world revolves around you! That nothing can touch you! Well news flash, there is a war going on! People are dying every day and you prance around putting on practical jokes. I know I've said it before, but I just don't know what possessed Dumbledore to make you Head Boy!"

"You think I don't know that people are dying? Well that shows how little you actually know about me, because I lost my father over the summer! He was an Auror; came home fatally wounded after a mission. I had to watch him die on our couch. And yes, that DID in fact touch me because I'm not some heartless DEATH EATER!" James roared, visibly upset.

"I, I didn't know," Lily said in a small voice.

"Obviously," James snapped. He took a deep breath.

"Professor Dumbledore made me Head Boy because he happens to see everything that you don't. Now don't think I'm even fuller of myself than you already do, but this is what he told me when I asked him.

"He knows where my allegiance in this war lies, against Voldemort. He knows that there is nothing more that I want to do than to fight and defeat that bastard. It's why I have no reservations against fighting the Slytherins at school. They're just Death Eaters in the making. Evidently I am a very influential individual, and he wants me to set the example for the younger students."

"I know you are against Voldemort, Potter. I didn't mean to say-,"

James kept talking, ignoring what she said. "Do you know why the Marauders prank? Yeah, at first it was just childish antics, in it for the glory. When the first deaths were starting happening, we wondered whether practical jokes were really appropriate. But they change the mood of the school. If even the most depressed student can crack a smile at our jokes, it's worth it. Did you ever notice that?"

Lily was stunned. "Well, um, no. I can honestly say I didn't."

"See! That is exactly what I am talking about! Merlin, Snape warped your mind so much. He made you believe that anything I did was bad. And now that you're finally free of him, your mind set still hasn't changed. Maybe it should." James finished.

Just then Sirius came running down the corridor. "Hey mate! There you are!"

Sirius seemed to notice Lily, and both of their flushed faces. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything," he winked. "Prongs, it's time. We need to go now or we will be late."

James quickly looked down at his watch. "Yeah. Well, see you Evans," and they both ran away like nothing had happened. Lily stared after them in utter confusion.

"Well," she thought. "That was weird." That night as she lay in her bed, she stayed up thinking about all that Potter had said. Slowly, she started to see why Dumbledore had made him Head Boy. He really was an extraordinary wizard.

**If this gets a good response, I may make a series of one-shots that go with this. So please review and tell me what you think! Not sure yet if they will be added to this story or separate. I'm thinking they will be added to this one!**

**Please review!**

**-Pixie97**

**P.S. If you didn't notice, it was a full moon, so James had to go out to the tree before Remus changed. I'm sorry if that was unclear!**


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